Six Months Later

"Do you think they'd try and eat us if we threw rocks at them?" Christian whispers fearfully as the small army of wolves surround us in the rainforest.

"I think they're just curious," I say, turning to walk away. "They haven't seen humans in years and then we turn up."

"But are they animal-eaters or real wolves?" he says.

"Animal-eaters," I say. "Didn't you see their eyes?"

Christian looks over his shoulder and stares back at the creatures in wolf forms that are standing in a formation line, watching us walk away. "Creepy."

"We've been here months and that's the first time they've come this close to the village," I say. "Should I tell Marina?"

"Uh. . . yes," Christian mutters. "Not only are they creatures but they are creatures with sharp teeth."

I look back over my shoulder but the wolves have vanished. Real wolves wouldn't have left us alive. Animal-eaters are so bizarre. At first it was subtle. I woke up one morning in my cabin to see an eagle with red eyes staring at me. It flew off straight after. Then, Jackson found a snake. The humans were curious and tried to capture it but then it turned into a large bat and flew off. That was the first real indication that this village was anything but ordinary.

However, those creatures were harmless. The wolf-creatures are something else. They don't come close to the village and all the humans are terrified of them doing so. We often hear them howling at night like they are communicating with all the other animal-eaters. Like they are the ones in charge.

Marina's presence is probably the only thing that keeps them away. Though she assured us that they aren't interested in humans surely they'd also count humans as animals? It's strange to all of us that they've never tried it.

Marina has been with us since the beginning. She is the go-between for us and the rest of the world. She brings us food and water, makes sure that we have enough games or books to stimulate our minds during the day. Herself and Blake are the only ones—apart from the animal eaters—that know we are here. Even the creatures that brought the humans here weren't told of what happened to them. Blake visits occasionally but he never stays long and he only ever mentions the palace, not the King.

Things are back to normal there. Humans are living there again, being fed on again, having weekly funerals again. Once a month we hold a vigil in the village to remember and honour those that have lost their lives. It was Christian's idea and for the first couple of months it was sad but then it became an act of celebration. I have to keep reminding myself that they are still young, that we all are, and being saved has brought so much life back to them.

There are twelve of us all together. The four that I saved, that Saffron honoured, and eight others that Blake managed to help escape. For the first week I hardly spoke to anyone, it was a lot to process and being away from the palace broke me in so many ways. Christian and Jackson pulled me out of the darkness and opened my eyes to freedom. Real freedom. It was a new feeling; one we are still learning to accept.

Seeing the same faces every day was strange at first but now we're all used to it. We're almost like a family.

We live in a small village on the edge of the forest. It's magical and colourful. There are fifteen cabins, some huts, some sheds, and we've even started farming some hens for eggs. Watching Marina carry them through the sky was hilarious. There are no real animals around here because the creatures have all consumed them so we rely on Marina to do our shopping. The cabins were slightly modernized, we have toilets and bathtubs and even kitchens, but we don't have electricity. It was difficult to adjust to at first but we've adapted now.

Christian loves it here. He's amazed by everything, especially the beaches at the bottom of the cliffs. He spends most of his time there with a girl called Holly. Holly and I have become really close despite her hatred of me when I first came here. Most of them hated me. They blamed me for Saffron, they considered my position as Queen an act of betrayal. I didn't blame them. It took a long time and a lot of hard work for them to trust me and even longer for them to trust Marina. But she has a way with humans, she stole all of their hearts within a couple of weeks and now we can't imagine our lives without her.

It's early morning here and everyone else is still asleep. Christian and I have always been early risers, every morning at sunrise we take a walk through the forest. Because it's now safe to do so, I told Christian everything. About Marina, about the bell, about the prophecy that may or may not be true. He became so excited that I feared he would tell everyone else but he kept it to himself. I'm beginning to think this prophecy is bullshit anyway. It's been six months and nothing has happened.

Christian and I walk along the path to the village and enter through the small gate. He runs straight over to the hen pen excitedly and I follow behind him with a chuckle. He picks up the basket beside the pen door and enters, carrying the basket into the small hut. The hens run out immediately, creating a cluster of annoying noises.

"How many?" I say.

"Twelve!" he says. "Hello, omelette. You hungry?"

"We should make breakfast for everyone."

"Oh yeah, there's other people here. I forgot about that."

I laugh out, walking back with him to the fire log. I help him set up the pans and plates and then he stares into an ingredient bag curiously.

"Dammit," he mutters. "We're out of salt."

I point to the sky. "You're in luck."

Christian follows my finger and holds a hand to his chest, breathing out with relief as Marina hovers down to us carrying a large bag.

"I couldn't quite work out the toilet thing on the list but I assumed it was toilet paper," Marina says as she passes me the bag. "Oh and there's extra drinking glasses, try not to break them this time." She glares at Christian.

"Did you get salt?" he says.

"There's a small tub in there, the new palace chef was quite protective over it."

Christian and I both stare at her. An instant dread tugs at my heart strings, it's not quite jealousy but I'm not actually sure what it is. Insanity? I suddenly have the image of Cain's shirtless body bending over a young, pretty girl in his bed in my mind.

"New palace chef?" I say. I clear my throat and rub my fingers. "He only. . . he only had a chef to cook for the girls he was. . ."

"Feeding from," Christian finishes.

Marina frowns, suddenly hating herself as she clenches on her teeth. "His hunger is back."

"What?" Christian and I say at the same time, both of us standing up simultaneously.

"He's feeding on pure girls to quench it. I don't know if it's working because he never talks about you. He'll go through half of the remaining human population to cure his hunger before he comes here."

"You said his hunger would be for her," Christian says, pointing at me. "You said he'd have no choice but to come here and either feed from her or transfer her soul back."

Marina groans. "He's finding alternate options."

"Great," I mutter, sitting back down. I chew on my nail anxiously. "Six months apart and he still can't do it."

"No," she says. "He can't. But at least it's a change. His hunger returning is a good thing, it means it could be soon."

"You said that seven months ago!"

"I know," she says, pulling out a bag from her pocket. "Candy?"

I dismiss her offer and I leave them. I jog down the pathway towards the row of small cabins, waving to a few of them as they tiredly exit their homes. I spot Holly tying her sneakers on a bench and I come to a stop next to her. She's wearing a sports bra with tight pants and her blonde hair is braided at the bottom of her head.

She looks up and smiles as she ties the last loop. "Hey."

"Christian's waiting for you, he's making breakfast," I say.

"Oh god, another omelette?" she mutters. "I think I might go for a long run first."

I become disoriented, holding my head as I look around the village.

"Where were you going?" she asks.

I collapse down onto the bench. "I don't know."

"Sneaking into Shane's cabin, huh?" She cocks one of her light eyebrows, grinning down at me. "I won't say anything."

I smile. "Shut up."

Shane is the eighteen-year-old ex-slave that has been slightly obsessed with me for the last few weeks. Not only is he insanely beautiful but he also makes hilarious company. He's across the village right now, teaching Miles something about the fence. It's a warm morning so I have the glorious sight of watching him hammer nails into the wood while wearing just shorts. I stare at his back as it arches, as his muscles stretch across his shoulders.

"Or maybe not," Holly says as she sees him too. She takes a seat next to me. "Come on, it's been weeks. Either say yes or put the poor guy out of his misery."

"He seems pretty happy to me."

"He and Christian are the only boys here over seventeen," she says. "If you don't take him then another girl will. And trust me, they are trying."

"Good for them," I say. "I'm not interested."

"Aurora, it's been six months," Holly says quietly. "He gave you this life—this chance—for you to be happy, so why are you holding back?"

I don't know why I'm holding back. I guess a part of me was still waiting for Cain to turn up and tell me that it was a mistake, that he loves me and wants me back. But now his hunger is back that will never happen, not until he's desperate. Our relationship or whatever we had is over and across this short field is something new that I've been too scared to explore.

Shane and I have fun. We eat together, we drink together, we dance together sometimes. Our entire friendship is just one big laugh. I want something deeper. I want to be with someone that isn't afraid to talk about the horrors they went through. But no one here ever does. It is never mentioned. Maybe that's for the best but how much longer can we all bury it until we snap?

"I'm going for a run but talk to him, okay?" she says as she turns to leave. "Get on the same page."

Shane turns and spots me on the bench. A big grin lights up his face and he waves me over with his hand. I stand up and walk away. I feel bad for ignoring him but I don't think I can deal with it right now.

I enter my cabin at the far side of the village, it was built from solid wood and always smells like a forest no matter which room I stand in. Jackson is awake and reading a book on the couch in the front room. The cabins are small and there's only two rooms downstairs and two bedrooms, meaning that Jackson and I are constantly in each other's way but I don't want him having a cabin to himself. Him and Natalie are a concern of mine, their relationship is something I never imagined I'd ever have to put boundaries on but since I caught them kissing half-naked in the ocean I've been stricter with their outings.

"What are you reading?" I ask him in Spanish, my eyes widening as I wait for him to scramble the answer together.

"A book about boats," he replies in Spanish. "I want to build a boat using not enough hands and leaves."

I start laughing and he narrows his eyes. "Leaves?"

"Yes, leaves. Stop crying at me."

I laugh even more, reverting the conversation to English. "You want to build a boat?"

"Yeah, Shane is going to help me. Obviously not one of those cool boats with engines, more like a canoe. Unless. . . do you think Marina could get us an engine?"

"No," I say. "Probably not. But a canoe sounds fun."

"Not as fun as an engine," he mutters.

"I'm sure Marina could actually find a boat and bring it here," I say. "Wouldn't that be easier?"

"Easier for cheaters," he says. "We're building one."

"Okay." I hold my hands up in surrender and I drop down at his feet, forcing him to push them to his chest. "Christian's making omelettes if you want one."

"No thanks."

I take a deep breath as he continues reading his book. He's mad at me for separating him and Natalie, for giving him curfews. It's not like I've completely banned him from seeing her but in his mind I may as well have.

Kids grow up. They turn against their parents. They start feeling things and experiencing things that confuse them and frustrate them. I never imagined I'd ever have to give a thirteen-year-old 'the talk' in this new world but I got it over with a few days ago. Things have been awkward between us since then, I almost passed out from the embarrassment and Jackson almost broke his voice telling me to stop talking about it.

We both wanted the ground to swallow us and I haven't brought it up since. He seemed to understand what I was talking about anyway, he lived among other slaves for a long time so I was naïve to think he hadn't been exposed to that kind of human desire. I know that he loves Natalie and I know that she loves him but thinking about the two of them ever being together like that will send me to an early grave.

"If you had the choice, where would you want to live?" I ask him. He eyes me over his book curiously.

"Here," he says.

"I mean, anywhere in the country. Where the bell. . ." I swallow that down. "Where the palace is. Would you prefer a house or a cottage or a townhouse with a farm?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Just humour me."

"Okay," he sighs. "Somewhere with a nice view. Like of the mountains or something."

I smile. "Really? I'd like that too. A country house with a big attic and a few dogs that ran around all day. And kids too, obviously, because I'd probably adopt them all."

Jackson narrows his eyes as he watches me daydream of that life. There's only one problem with that life—it doesn't have Cain in it. Though in my head he is there, by my side, and we watch the sunset as the group of orphaned kids play with each other on the land.

"What's wrong with our life here?" he says.

"Nothing but we won't be able to get back here after. . ." I rub my head. I can't say anymore without him getting suspicious. "I guess I just think about it a lot."

Jackson loves his life here and I will have to take him away from that. There's no way I can ring that bell with him on the other side of the world. I'll never see him again. I'll never see any of them again. But maybe that's something I have to ask them. Christian has never brought it up and I've been too nervous to ask him. Without Marina, their food source will run low so they might have to come back with me. They already have their freedom and are living in paradise so they might resent me for trying to save the others, though none of them would directly air that selfishness out loud.

The whole situation is a mess. Yesterday was just like any other ordinary day but today is different. Today has finally come. The day we start planning. And the first thing I did was run away from it.